Emergency 911 apps for smartphones may not be safe, cautioned public safety, phone companies and others, in comments last week in FCC docket RM-11780 about a National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) request for a proceeding on how smartphone 911 apps may interface with 911 systems (see 1612190055). Mobile apps are “not ready to replace traditional voice calls and SMS messages to 9-1-1, APCO commented. Apps could one day enhance 911, but critical issues must first be addressed, it said. The National Emergency Number Association supported an FCC proceeding, agreeing the apps are an opportunity but also a challenge for public safety. The apps must be held to the same standards as other parts of 911 systems, NENA said. AT&T said mobile 911 apps hold promise, but it has seen that certain apps can interfere with the normal operations of 911 calling provided by mobile service providers. “Wireless carriers cannot be the gate keepers for these third-party emergency services apps over which the carrier has no control,” AT&T commented. But it said there’s no legal basis for the FCC to assert authority over 911 apps, and it would be better to develop industry standards. NTCA also raised concerns about FCC legal authority, saying the FTC may be better positioned to act. ACT|The App Association agreed the FTC is a more appropriate venue. It commented that FCC actions could stunt growth of the app industry: “Emergency communications are no exception to the app revolution, and the Commission should ensure that its policies enhance, rather than disrupt, the benefits that this innovative ecosystem can bring to 911 communications.”

FCC bureaus Friday afternoon undid numerous orders and other items (see 1702030058) enacted under former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, reversing actions on zero rating, media ownership, video streaming and other matters. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn criticized it as “Take out the trash day” and a “Friday news dump.” The reversed items are all “last minute actions” that weren't supported by a majority of commissioners when they were taken and that “ran contrary to the wishes expressed by the leadership of our congressional oversight committees,” said Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement Friday. "In some cases, Commissioners were given no advance notice of these midnight regulations." The actions also were a subject of our earlier story (see 1701240020).

FCC bureaus Friday afternoon undid numerous orders and other items (see 1702030058) enacted under former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, reversing actions on zero rating, media ownership, video streaming and other matters. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn criticized it as “Take out the trash day” and a “Friday news dump.” The reversed items are all “last minute actions” that weren't supported by a majority of commissioners when they were taken and that “ran contrary to the wishes expressed by the leadership of our congressional oversight committees,” said Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement Friday. "In some cases, Commissioners were given no advance notice of these midnight regulations." The actions also were a subject of our earlier story (see 1701240020).

Americans for Limited Government criticized NTIA Thursday for “sitting on” the “most responsive documents” in the conservative group’s Freedom of Information Act request on analyses of the legal and policy justifications for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition until after the switchover’s completion. NTIA released a batch of documents on the IANA oversight handoff to ALG Jan. 26, almost four months after the transition’s Oct. 1 completion (see 1609300065 and 1610030042). ALG claimed the only NTIA documents on legal justification for the handoff were created March 25, 2014 -- 11 days after then-Administrator Larry Strickling announced the transition (see report in the March 17, 2014, issue) and two days after the Wall Street Journal's Gordon Crovitz raised concerns about the legal justification for the transition. “If these documents had been made available in a timely manner, even in the redacted form we now see, [ALG] and others would have had legal recourse to appeal the privileged determination that they were exempt documents,” said ALG President Rick Manning in a news release. “It took almost 3 years to produce the most responsive documents in our FOIA and only now is the agency claiming its privileged exemptions when it is too late to appeal except for the historical record.” The fact “that whatever legal justification existed for the Internet giveaway was sat upon until long after the transition was over” denied critics of the switchover “a critical indication about whether any legal analysis was performed prior to the transition's announcement,” Manning said. NTIA didn’t comment.

Americans for Limited Government criticized NTIA Thursday for “sitting on” the “most responsive documents” in the conservative group’s Freedom of Information Act request on analyses of the legal and policy justifications for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition until after the switchover’s completion. NTIA released a batch of documents on the IANA oversight handoff to ALG Jan. 26, almost four months after the transition’s Oct. 1 completion (see 1609300065 and 1610030042). ALG claimed the only NTIA documents on legal justification for the handoff were created March 25, 2014 -- 11 days after then-Administrator Larry Strickling announced the transition (see report in the March 17, 2014, issue) and two days after the Wall Street Journal's Gordon Crovitz raised concerns about the legal justification for the transition. “If these documents had been made available in a timely manner, even in the redacted form we now see, [ALG] and others would have had legal recourse to appeal the privileged determination that they were exempt documents,” said ALG President Rick Manning in a news release. “It took almost 3 years to produce the most responsive documents in our FOIA and only now is the agency claiming its privileged exemptions when it is too late to appeal except for the historical record.” The fact “that whatever legal justification existed for the Internet giveaway was sat upon until long after the transition was over” denied critics of the switchover “a critical indication about whether any legal analysis was performed prior to the transition's announcement,” Manning said. NTIA didn’t comment.

Democrats on the House Communications Subcommittee are eyeing a likely NTIA reauthorization bill as a possible way to advance other priorities such as spectrum reallocation legislation and a measure to create grants for vehicle-to-infrastructure technology. They floated the ideas Thursday during a preliminary hearing on reauthorization, which hasn't happened since 1992.

Democrats on the House Communications Subcommittee are eyeing a likely NTIA reauthorization bill as a possible way to advance other priorities such as spectrum reallocation legislation and a measure to create grants for vehicle-to-infrastructure technology. They floated the ideas Thursday during a preliminary hearing on reauthorization, which hasn't happened since 1992.

Staff in several FCC bureaus, sometimes acting jointly, undid numerous actions from the administration of then-Chairman Tom Wheeler. All withdrawn Friday afternoon: a report raising questions on zero rating practices of AT&T and Verizon; an inquiry about Comcast's video streaming practices; staff guidance that could have placed additional standards of review on mergers and acquisitions of TV stations involving some resource and other sharing pacts; actions on TV station political advertising that highlighted a need for disclosure of certain information; and a report on E-rate modernization. Other actions effectively canceled were on cybersecurity and 5G device security.

Staff in several FCC bureaus, sometimes acting jointly, undid numerous actions from the administration of then-Chairman Tom Wheeler. All withdrawn Friday afternoon: a report raising questions on zero rating practices of AT&T and Verizon; an inquiry about Comcast's video streaming practices; staff guidance that could have placed additional standards of review on mergers and acquisitions of TV stations involving some resource and other sharing pacts; actions on TV station political advertising that highlighted a need for disclosure of certain information; and a report on E-rate modernization. Other actions effectively canceled were on cybersecurity and 5G device security.

Spectrum and numbering resources are critical to the development of IoT services but don't require any special attention at this point, regulators said at a webcast workshop. Panelists Wednesday from the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and Europe's Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) said they're monitoring IoT developments, but have no specific concerns about spectrum availability or numbering. "Our duty is to understand" the new, innovative, international environment before making rules, said BEREC Chairman Sébastien Soriano from French telecom regulator ARCEP (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes).